John Beilenson founded Strategic Communications & Planning (SCP) in New York City in 1987. He has led the company since then, providing consulting, editorial, and training services to a wide range of nonprofit organizations and public institutions. As the founder and president of SCP, John works closely with his team to develop communications, branding, and messaging strategies that increase nonprofits’ exposure in the public arena and promote positive social change. John provides oversight of all SCP’s projects, and as a veteran writer, takes a hand in some of the editorial projects as well.
Between 1997 and 1999, he also served as Senior Associate at Millennium Communications Group in Washington, DC, where he consulted to educational and other nonprofit organizations and associations around the country.
In addition to his consulting, John has been an instructor in Communications Studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he taught “Public Speaking” and the “Rhetoric of Social Movements.”
He founded and directed the Youth Voice Project, a federally-funded initiative to promote young people’s leadership of national and community service organizations.
John also developed and co-directed the North Carolina Media Institute, which trained grass-roots environmental activists in advocacy and communications skills.
John began his career working in New York City government, where he served as Director of Public Affairs for the Department of Juvenile Justice and Public Affairs Manager for the City Volunteer Corps. John is the author of “Balancing Custody and Care”, a resource book on juvenile detention services, and “A Good Place for Children,” a guide to court-based children’s centers.
He has written 18 books for Peter Pauper Press, including his latest, The Future Me: Authoring the Second Half of Your Life, an interactive journal for people considering retirement and other transitions in later life. He has also contributed to several national magazines and journals, including Social Policy and Sports Illustrated.
John has an AB in history and literature from Harvard University and an MA in communications studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is currently a member (and former chair) of the board of directors of Surrey Services, a board member of City Year Greater Philadelphia, and a board advisor to Generations Online.
When he is not implementing and managing communications solutions, John is out playing something somewhere — basketball, squash, skiing, you name it. His passion for sports is surpassed only by his love for his wife, son, and the musical stylings of Prince. John is also an energetic proponent of the farm-to-table movement and can often be found in his garden trying to practice what he preaches.
